A smarter person than I said that prestige music biopics are superhero movies for boomers, and it’s a fine point. Like the Marvel or DC franchises, they’re marketing a familiar brand to an enthusiastic audience, which eagerly laps up what is, in essence, the same movie countless times over, working from a tightly constructed and unwavering structure. Superhero films give us the establishing iconography, the thrilling midpoint action beat, the plot twists and rising stakes, and the final, flavorless CGI-laden battle sequence.

Continue reading ‘Respect’: Jennifer Hudson Can’t Make This Formulaic Musical Biopic Truly Sing [Review] at The Playlist.

Just as things were seemingly returning to normal – albeit slowly for some – it would seem that we may be going back to studios possibly shifting release dates for their more prominent properties. Or maybe “Clifford the Big Red Dog” is simply an outlier. That said, for the time being, there’s plenty of films on the docket worth keeping an eye out for in a month full of original content and few titles (such as the well-regarded “The Suicide Squad“) based on existing properties.

Continue reading 13 Films To Watch In August: ‘Suicide Squad,’ ‘Candyman,’ ‘Coda’ & More at The Playlist.

The 74th Locarno Film Festival will take place in person from August 4 to August 14 in Locarno, Switzerland, and the festival’s film lineup has been announced via The Hollywood Reporter. The Swiss event was founded back in 1946 and is one of the longest-running film festivals in the world.

READ MORE: ‘Halloween Kills’ To Premiere At Venice Film Festival As Jamie Lee Curtis Honored With Lifetime Achievement Award

Studio pics at the Piazza Grande lineup will include Ferdinando Cito Filomarino’s thriller “Beckett” that features performances from John David Washington and Alicia Vikander, Shawn Levy‘s video game adventure film “Free Guy” led by Ryan Reynolds and Jodie Comer, John Swab’s actioner “Ida Red” starring Melissa Leo, and Liesl Tommy’s biopic “Respect” starring Oscar-winner Jennifer Hudson.

Continue reading Locarno Film Festival Lineup Includes ‘Beckett,’ ‘Ida Red,’ Abel Ferrara’s ‘Zeros & Ones,’ Gaspar Noé’s ‘Vortex’ & More at The Playlist.

We’ve had definitive biopics on legendary Black soul artists like James Brown (“Get On Up“), Miles Davis (“Miles Ahead“), Tina Turner (“What’s Love Got To Do With It“), and Ray Charles (“Ray“). And while she’s appeared in many films and there have been documentaries made about her, there’s never really been a definitive movie biopic about the Queen of Soul, at least one that’s stuck in the collective conscious.

Continue reading ‘Respect’ Trailer: Jennifer Hudson Is The Queen Of Soul at The Playlist.

So… I guess we’re back? If you’re an American, chances are you’ve been vaxxed to the max already and or are probably awaiting your second dose, which should come quickly.  As we already noted, folks like Marvel are already flexing, welcoming audiences back to theaters, and well, that means nature is healing, right? Cinema is healing too, and with New York vowing to reopen fully on June 1, that probably means the rest of the country isn’t far behind.

Continue reading Summer 2021 Preview: Over 50 Movies To Watch at The Playlist.

Every year is a good year to stan female directors, but 2021 has cooked us up a real feast. Acting veterans like Rebecca Hall, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Robin Wright, and Halle Berry are finally claiming their director’s chairs on feature films, while arthouse icon Jane Campion is returning to hers after 12 years. Foreign language directors like Lucile Hadžihalilović and Ildikó Enyedi are making their English-language debuts, and French juggernaut Mélanie Laurent is working on two releases back to back.

Continue reading 52 Films Directed By Women To Watch In 2021 at The Playlist.

The gifted vocalist, the late Aretha Franklin, is receiving her own Hollywood biopic. This stellar performer, who passed away in 2018, is being brought into a new light in the 2020 feature film “Respect.” A new teaser trailer for the production has been released now that a new release date has been given.

READ MORE: The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2020

The title of the movie, like many of the titles to recent biopics examining the lives of various musicians, is taken from one of Franklin’s hit songs of the same name.

Continue reading ‘Respect’ Trailer: Jennifer Hudson Is The First Lady Of Soul, Aretha Franklin at The Playlist.